ABSTRACT
“Virtue” in the Donald Trump era will be defined as efficacy in containing the disruption of civic norms. Ideology does not seem to be a major feature in intersectional analyses; hence progressives seem at times unprepared when coalitions with vulnerable groups do not maximize ethical and political outcomes, such as women’s rights and the reduction of sexual assault. Centuries old battles for capitalism and conspicuous consumption rendered captivity and dehumanization based in racism the de facto and de jure structures for civil societies and political economies. A southern White House at Mar-a-Largo, in Florida, two centuries after a southern White House at Monticello, Virginia, is a useful visual to contemplate if one wishes to argue that plantation style democracy increases the political-economic gains that disenfranchise minorities. Pedagogical lessons are needed to comprehend democracy’s origins, its repressive and progressive features, and its imperial military that ensnares and protects the nation.
